Tesla is racing to release its Model S by 2012. As a result it posted another big loss this quarter, burning through a fair chunk of its cash at hand.

Tesla will also deliver an electric version of the Toyota RAV4 crossover in 2012. (Source: New and Fastest)

Tesla has already lost more this year than it had all of last year

The
good news for Tesla Motors is that the company has plenty of cash on
hand thanks to government
grants and an incredibly successful initial
public offering that raised $226M USD. The bad news is
that the company is burning through cash fast as it attempts to
develop new vehicles and expand its distribution network.

Reporting
financials for the first time as a publicly traded company,
Tesla just
announced a loss of $38.5M USD for its second fiscal
quarter, 2010. Year-to-year it reports its revenue rose 5
percent, to $28.4M USD. A year ago the company only lost $10.8M
USD, though.

Tesla is looking to begin producing and selling
its upcoming Model
S mass market luxury sedan in 2012, priced at $57,400 USD.
The car will retain some luxury trappings and have a range of 160
miles. Tesla will produce the new model at the the former NUMMI
factory, located in Fremont, California, which it obtained from
Toyota as part of a joint development deal. The factory had
been scheduled close after former co-operator GM pulled out, in the
wake of its bankruptcy.

Tesla also has a hand in the
development of an electric
version of Toyota's RAV4 crossover SUV which will also hit
the market in 2012. Toyota gave Tesla a relatively meager $50M
USD to help develop the plug-in, but also gave it access to the NUMMI
plant and other perks. Tesla also recently revealed that it is
developing
3 other vehicles internally -- another crossover/SUV, a
Cabriolet, and an electric van.

For Tesla, its current
financial predicament basically boils down to weathering the storm,
which is never an easy position for a company. If the company
can stay afloat through 2012 and make its deadlines for the Model S
and Toyota RAV4 vehicles, it will be poised well to return to
its short-lived
profitability of 2009.

In total Tesla has already lost
more this year ($68M USD) than it did all of
last year ($55.7M USD). One promising sign, though, was that
Tesla significantly improved its gross margin to 22 percent, up from
8 percent from a year before. Gross margin is a measure of
profitability that weighs production costs versus sales costs.

While
still above the $17 IPO price, shares of Tesla (TSLA) have plummeted
from a high of $22 earlier this week to $19.80 following the
financial report.

"This is about the Internet. Everything on the Internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue. If they can't deal with the Internet, they should shut it off." -- RIM co-CEO Michael Lazaridis